Health benefits of much maligned egg yolk

A team of scientists headed by Dr. Dominic Alexander of the Medical Institute of Michigan reveals in their latest findings on consumption of an egg per day can lower the cholesterol level and can minimize the danger of a stroke in brain to a certain extent in contrast to the long-held belief that consuming egg yolk leads to high cholesterol levels and heart attacks.

You might by now have given up eating eggs due to cholesterol phobia. But now you need not entertain such fears because a research team of medical scientists recently has found that egg consumption is really beneficial to health.

Until recently there was a belief that eggs are prone to increase the bad cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart ailments. But the latest research findings have confirmed that there is no sufficient evidence to prove such conclusions.

As a result of the new findings changes were made to the list that contains a high level of cholesterol in food items including eggs. America’s Food and Drug Authority web sites say that a person should not worry much about the cholesterol content of foods that are now listed as safe from high cholesterol levels.

An article on ‘Nutritional Value of Eggs’ published in The Journal of the American College of Nutrition (Volume 35, 2016- Issue 8) revealed that consumption of an egg per day can minimize strokes in brain caused due to blood clotting.

A team of researchers of the Medical Institute of Michigan headed by Dr. Dominic Alexander carried out seven research projects between 1982 to 2004 and analyzed data of around 276,000 to 308,000 from patients in countries such as America, Japan and Spain. The researchers failed to confirm that there is any connection between the consumption of eggs and heart ailments. Instead, they even discovered that consuming an egg a day could minimize the danger of a brain stroke by 12 per cent.

The researchers were not able to ascertain the reason behind the cause for such a reduction. But the team leader of the research Dr. Dominic Alexander has made a surprising revelation in his research results thus: “There are so many nutrients in eggs which are essential to the body, among them, anti-oxidants are crucial. Anti-oxidants have the ability to overcome the ill-effects of oxidants in the body which cause severe pains with inflammation. As eggs are rich in proteins, blood pressure can be reduced through its protein contents. The consumption of eggs can be the reason in minimizing the danger of strokes in brain. More research has to be done to ascertain the reasons behind this phenomenon.”

In addition, the experiments carried out by them have proved consumption of salads mixed with eggs help vigorous absorption of anti-oxidants like carotenoids to the body.
The importance should be drawn to the revelation made on anti-oxidants by Dr. Alexander. Natural foods and drugs manufactured from natural herbs are recommended for some of the present day maladies because they are rich in anti-oxidant properties that help ward off sicknesses. ‘Green Tea’ is one item. Cabbage is also another one. Likewise there are so many herbal foods to consume.

Nowadays, the proper dosage of antibiotics given to poultry is not strictly adhered to. Special attention should be given in selecting eggs and other food items which have anti-oxidant properties and are also free from pesticides, if not, it will be an invitation for unexpected illnesses.

(This article was published in the ‘Sunday Rivira’ written by Narada Karunatillake)